After the chaotic closing laps of last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, NASCAR is seemingly once again drawing a line in the sand regarding race manipulation.
On this week’s episode of the Hauler Talk podcast, NASCAR Managing Director of Communications Mike Forde confirmed that the sanctioning body will be re-emphasizing its expectations to teams ahead of the next cut-off race at Martinsville, which is set to take place in three weeks.
“At a certain point during this week, we will just remind teams, ‘Let’s not put yourselves or ourselves in jeopardy here,'” Forde explained. “Fans should be coming to the race track expecting a straight-up race where each position is fought for as hard as possible. If we do see something or hear something we don’t like, we are going to step in.”
The timing of Forde’s statement on Hauler Talk is no coincidence. On the final lap of the race at the Roval, Ross Chastain, fighting for the final spot in the Playoffs Round of 8, attempted a desperation dive on Denny Hamlin in the final turn of the race that took both drivers out and handed the final Round of 8 transfer spot to Joey Logano, who had the spot secured by way of a tie-breaker before the desperation move by Chastain.
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But beyond the on-track contact, many drivers and teams had subtle eye-raising strategy calls in the closing laps of the race, including Cole Custer and Alex Bowman, who were running behind Logano and Chastain, respectively. Both drivers were told to “save tires”, which some interpreted as code for not challenging a manufacturer ally driver battling for points to advance into the next round of the Playoffs.
Although NASCAR ultimately determined that none of the in-race communication crossed the line this time around, the incident saw teams fly dangerously close to the sun, especially coming almost exactly one year after blatant radio orders between Chevrolet teams at Martinsville Speedway helped William Byron secure a Championship 4 berth.
Forde didn’t mince words: NASCAR will be watching and listening more closely to teams as Martinsville looms.
“It’s not a message of ‘You can’t talk about points,” added NASCAR’s Amanda Ellis. “It’s a message that if you’re talking about points, it should be about your car, not others that are in play.”
With the next Playoff elimination race set for Martinsville Speedway, where the 2024 Championship 4 was shaped by team orders, NASCAR is making its position clear. If there’s manipulation, expect consequences.
